After two years of outsized growth, ecommerce returns dipped by 2.5% year over year per our estimates, and we now expect ecommerce return rates to approach pre-pandemic levels by 2026

Discount stores are on an expansion tear: Amid growing sales, Dollar General, Five Below, and Dollar Tree plan to open more stores this year.

The gap between H&M and Inditex is getting wider: While Inditex records record profits, H&M veers toward a Q1 operating loss. (This article was written with the assistance of ChatGPT.)

Retail sales rose 6.4% in the first two months of 2023: While growth slowed in February, consumers continued to spend.

SVB leaves void of startup support in its wake: Depositors may get their money back but they’ll lose the go-to institution for young companies accessing capital. Brace for startup failures.

Slowing but persistent inflation continues to strain US consumers’ buying power: Real wages fell in February as prices for groceries, recreation, and airfare continued to rise.

GM can’t afford workers and EVs: It’s offering the bulk of its US salaried employees voluntary severance. We can expect inflation, high interest rates, and automation to weigh on industry jobs.

High inflation and growing interest rates are putting the credit card industry in a precarious position. As 2023 progresses, issuers and networks will rethink their strategies and marketing schemes to protect their bottom lines.

Consumers have shifted more their spending to dining out: But while restaurant industry sales are expected to rise 6.4% this year, the industry faces several challenges.

Macy's and Best Buy are seeing a drop in sales of nonessential goods: Economic uncertainty, inflation force consumers to focusing on necessities like groceries.

Deal-seeking by consumers, heavy discounting from retailers, and a longer holiday shopping season drove an uptick in returns during the 2022 holiday season. Retailers will need to plan their promotional calendars carefully to manage returns in 2023.

This year, we forecast retail sales of cosmetic and beauty products will reach $86.42 billion, a 7.6% increase from 2022. This increase will be driven in large part by in-store sales and luxury beauty categories. But going forward, technology may play a large role in driving online sales.

Digital payment methods continue to displace cash and checks in the US payments ecosystem. But after a pandemic-driven crest, growth is moderating amid economic uncertainty, resetting the stakes for share of wallet.

The 2022 holiday season’s solid retail sales gains were mostly attributable to inflation, but they nevertheless paint a cautiously optimistic picture for the 2023 holiday season.

It won’t get much better than low single digits going forward. The next few years will see low growth by historic standards but not to a disastrous extent.

Forty-four percent of US adults plan to spend their normal amount on health and beauty products this year, according to a MetaPack survey. More than two-thirds said they’re not changing their spending on apparel (39%) or on DIY and gardening (34%).

Consumers kept spending even as inflation ticked up in January: That’s likely to push the Fed to keep raising interest rates, which is why retailers have modest expectations for the year ahead.

They were aided by high interest rates and low loan delinquencies. But this year, the effects from persistent inflation and the failed mini-budget still lurk.

They’re becoming delinquent on auto loans and credit card payments at a faster rate than older generations, raising questions about what’s normal and what’s troubling.

Ecommerce sales worldwide grew at the slowest rate on record in 2022. Although 2023 is in line for a rebound, it won’t be a major spike. The era of annual double-digit booms is over, but several countries will still produce standout growth.